Halo: The Return
by J-dogg1020
Summary: Set after Halo 3. John is rescued and given a new mission. First fanfic. Rated for violence and censored language. Discontinued.
1. Foreword

Foreword

Please keep the following things in mind before reviewing each chapter.

I am 15

I am in high school so don't expect many updates.

I am not very committed to any project that I start so do not get your hopes up of me finishing this.

I am lazy. I will update when I can/feel like it.

I have morals; all swearing will be censored until I turn 18.

I own nothing but the plot and my OCs.

This is my first fanfic.


	2. Rescue

A/N: This is my first fanfic. And due to my moral restrictions, all swear words will appear with * in place of all but the first letter. Also, with Halo 4 coming out, this is obviously non-canon. I originally planned this in a format for a film, but I knew that wouldn't happen, so I settled for internet entertainment. Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Rescued

As the half-frigate carrying John-117 and Cortana drifted towards the unknown planet, the planet seemed to "activate". The frigate crashed. John was awakened from his cryostasis pod and quickly grabbed his weapon and Cortana's data chip. He climbed out of the wreckage to find himself in a highly-advanced looking city. Although the city was in ruins, John could see that it was clearly forerunner in design. He began to walk, not hearing a single word from Cortana. He eventually came to an intersection. Looking either way, he heard a small squelching noise. He quickly spun around and aimed his assault rifle. A small flood infection form leapt at him, but he was fast enough to pull the trigger and he watched as the small creature burst.

John looked around to find himself surrounded. The small bulbs gathered, but before any attacked, the loud roaring of an engine caused them to scurry away. Three ODST drop pods landed around John. He shouldered his weapon in case more flood came. The doors of the pods hissed and burst open revealing three humans in what looked like MJOLNIR armor.

Spartan #1: "Commander, we found him. I repeat: the package is secure."

Commander (radio): "Great job Spartans. I am dispatching a Pelican to your location."

Spartan #1: "Got it, sir." (to John): "Come with us. The UNSC has been looking for you."

John nodded and waited for the Pelican to arrive.

Pilot (radio): "This is Delta-2929. Please respond."

Spartan #1: "We got him, Delta. Mind giving us a lift?"

Pilot (radio): "No problem."

The drop ship hovered about two feet from the ground and extended its cargo platform. The 3 Spartans took their seats on one side of the bay, while John sat on the opposite side. As the Pelican took off, the first Spartan extended his hand.

Spartan #1: "It's great to finally meet the legend himself." John shook his hand. "Alex-B013. This is Max-A014 and Ellen-G027." He indicated the other two Spartans sitting next to him.

John: "Obviously you know who I am. What happened while we were away?"

Alex: "We'll brief you when we get back to base."

A/N: Hope you guys liked the first chapter. I already know the direction this will be going in, but I have problems with the small things. Anyway, constructive criticism is appreciated. No flames please!


	3. New Mission, New Team

A/N: Although I may update quickly at first, this will slow down pretty quickly. Also, forgive me if the story is really jumpy. Like I said before: I am not good with little details like transitions. Don't forget to review!

Chapter 2: New Mission, New Team

The Spartans climbed out of the Pelican and exited the hangar bay. The base was very large and required omni-directional elevators to navigate to farther areas. The Spartans entered one elevator and headed to the command center.

John: "How long have we been gone?"

Max: "Seven years."

John: "I can only imagine how much has changed."

Alex: "You'd be surprised at how little that actually is."

The elevator stopped in a room full of computers and screens. An elderly man stood facing away from the elevator in a white suit and hat. He turned to greet the Spartans.

Lord Hood: "Good to see you again, Chief." He gave John a firm handshake.

John: "Likewise, sir."

Hood: (to the other Spartans) "You three are dismissed."

Spartans: "Yes, sir!" They salute and turn to leave.

John: "So what's their story?"

Hood: "They are part of a top secret military operation to create Spartans from birth. The Spartan IVs are the result of us genetically altering a single cell, and then allowing that cell to be carried by volunteer surrogate mothers. We originally made seven attempts, but only three survived. The three that survived were born and grew up as normal children, besides the lack of a father and the physical and mental differences. On their fourteenth birthday, UNSC were dispatched to retrieve the children and bring them in for training. They trained harder than any other soldier, including previous Spartans. They are fitted with MJOLNIR Mk. VII armor."

John: "So they were literally bred for war."

Hood: "In a manner of speaking. Anyway, onto your debriefing. We picked up your distress beacon around two months ago and we searched the sector for your armor signature. Obviously you know the story after we found you."

John: "Sir, Cortana has been quiet as of late." He reached back and pulled Cortana's data chip from the back of his helmet. He looked at the small chip and noticed it was red instead of the normal blue.

Hood: "I'll have our technicians take a look at her." He took the chip and placed it in the hand of an awaiting technician. He then pulled out a small holo-card and handed it to John. "Your quarters are in wing J. Get some rest, and then you will be briefed on your next assignment."

John nodded and turned to leave the command center.

John took the elevator to the lounge and when it stopped, he noticed that the three Spartans from before were already there. Alex, who wore a red Recon-style armor, was simply sitting on the bench and wiping dirt from his visor. He had fairly pale skin, short brown hair, and blue eyes. Max was leaning against a wall, flipping and twirling two 15-inch knives, his helmet sitting next to him. He wore orange CQB-style armor, and had what appeared to be a jetpack on his back. His skin was very dark, and so were his eyes, although he lacked any hair. Ellen sat across from Alex and was fusing and defusing a small bomb, trying to see how quick she could do it. She wore EOD-style armor. Her skin was slightly more tan than Alex's, although her hair was much lighter and came to where her neck and shoulders meet. Her eyes were a very bright green color. John also noticed two other Spartans who were over on the other side of the room playing cards. One was a large man with short, graying hair. He spoke with a heavy Hungarian accent. The other was much shorter, and was bald. He had a tattoo of a hand holding three arrows in front of his left ear.

Alex: "Alright, time for some proper introductions."

A/N: So here is the second chapter. Sorry that the chapters are so short, but whatever. By the way, disregard my previous note. Flame as much as you want. My nonexistent self-esteem can take it. Reviews are appreciated!


	4. Introductions

A/N: Sorry for the wait, I was at my cousin's for like 5 days and then I just got lazy. I also went to see the new Transformers yesterday. I highly recommend it. Anyway, here is chapter 3.

Chapter 3: Introductions

Alex: "Alex-B013; Spartan-IV; Field Stealth Specialist."

Max: "Max-A014; Spartan-IV; Close-quarters Specialist."

Ellen: "Ellen-G027; Spartan-IV; Heavy Weapons and Explosives Specialist."

Jorge: "Jorge-052; Spartan-II; Heavy Weapons Specialist."

Jun: "Jun-A266; Spartan-III; Long-range and Sniping Specialist."

John: "John-117; Spartan-II; Luck Specialist." John said this jokingly.

The group chuckled at this. Alex gestured for John to sit down on one of the benches.

John: "So what has actually happened while I was gone?"

Alex: "A treaty has been signed between the people of Earth and the people of Sanghelios. A trade route has also been established."

John: "One less alien species shooting at us."

Alex: "Yeah. As you can see, the Spartan-IV project has come out of the dark a little. We were also able to recover these two," he gestures to Jorge and Jun, "shortly after the fall of Reach. Jorge here was a part of OPERATION: UPPERCUT, in which he, another Spartan, and a group of marines attempted to destroy a Covenant Supercarrier prior to the mass invasion of Reach. The plan was to bring a malfunctioning slipspace generator into the hangar and transport the ship to oblivion."

Jorge: "Unfortunately, the timer was fried in a firefight and I had to set the thing off manually. However, the malfunctioning part of the engine… well, malfunctioned. The engine worked properly, other than lacking coordinates and transporting us to a random location in space."

Alex: "Right. Jun here was one of the lucky survivors of Reach and fled the planet with Dr. Halsey."

Jun: "Before we found Jorge here, I was thought to be the last surviving member of Noble."

John: "Noble?"

Jorge: "A team of Spartan-IIIs, me being the only exception. Carter-A259, Noble One; MIA. Kat-B320, Noble Two; MIA. Jun-A266, Noble Three; Active. Emile-A239, Noble Four; MIA. Jorge-052, Noble Five; Active. Sierra-B312, Noble Six; MIA. Never did get his name."

Alex: "Anyway, me and the other IVs make up a small, highly classified team known as Team Zero. Everything but our names is covered in black ink. Seems ONI likes keeping secrets."

Just then, the elevator opened and an 8'6" tall stepped into the room. He had hooves for feet, ankles occurring much higher than a human, more like a dog, purple skin, four fingers on each hand: two fingers and two opposable thumbs, and in place of a lower jaw, four mandibles made up his lower mouth. He also wore bronze colored, ancestral-looking armor.

Arbiter: "Spartan."

John: "Arbiter."

Both John and the Arbiter clenched their fist to their chest and bowed their head, as was the elites customary salute.

Arbiter: "Your technicians have diagnosed your construct's problem."

John: "Show me."

John stood up and stood next to the elite in the elevator. The elevator quickly moved to a room full of computers, wires, and other high-tech equipment. Many scientists in lab coats, as well as a few elites, walked busily around the area. In the center of it all a pedestal gave off a soft blue glow and in the center floated a small hologram of a woman with her eyes closed and her legs crossed.

John: "Cortana."

Technician #1: "She can't hear you at the moment."

The data streams that normally ran over her body were dull and seemed to flow much slower.

John: "What happened to her?"

Technician #2: "Well, the results indicate that she has lived twice her expected life span. She seems to have put herself into a subdued, almost trance-like, state and is currently sorting through her data on what is currently relevant, while compressing and storing unneeded data."

John: "In English?"

Technician #2: "She is trying to figure out what memories to keep and which to forget. She seems to have become aware of her own rampancy and is doing this as to protect herself as well as others."

John: "What will she remember?"

Technician #2: "That's currently up to her. We can't be sure as of yet."

John: "What will happen after this?"

Technician #1: "She will become metastable. In every way but physically, she will become human."

John stared at Cortana's avatar for a long time before the Arbiter spoke up and brought him back to reality.

Arbiter: "How long will this process take?"

Technician #1: "She has taken in about two hundred terabytes of data and is currently processing it at 30 gigabytes per second. At this point, she is about three quarters of the way through the process. By our calculations, it should only take another half hour."

Alex: (after suddenly appearing next to John) "That gives us just enough time to head down to the mess hall for dinner."

John seemed surprised by Alex's sudden appearance, but before he could say anything, Alex cut him off.

Alex: "I told you I was a stealth specialist."

The largest group of marines had already eaten their dinner, so the mess hall was fairly empty. The Spartans, except for John, got their food and sat at a booth next to a window. The Arbiter received his food from a special booth made for the elites. John simply leaned against a wall with his arms crossed and stared blankly into space while his suit's built-in food processors injected nutrients into his body.

Max: "You sure you don't want some real food?"

John: "I can manage."

Ellen: "Come on, John. Actually live for once."

This seemed to trigger something. John sighed and walked over to the buffet. He picked up a tray and began grabbing food. After his tray was almost full, he walked back to the booth and sat with the other Spartans.

Alex: "There you go."

John removed his helmet, but a shadow from a nearby support pillar obscured his face. While the rest of the group talked about different situations they came across in previous missions, John simply ate in silence.

While he was eating, he decided to ask something.

John: (indicating Jorge and Ellen) "So why are you two so similar?"

Jorge: "She's my little sister. When I was about two years old, my father was killed while out on a mission. My mother obviously loved him very much, as she decided she would never marry another man. About a year later, she discovered the Spartan-IV project and volunteered. Ellen was about three when I was kidnapped for the Spartan-II project. When we both assumed active duty, we were assigned to the same mission and we thought of it as a family reunion."

Ellen: "When I heard that they found his signal, I volunteered to aid in security during the retrieval mission."

Max: "What about you? You got any siblings?"

John simply shook his head at the question.

The rest of the meal carried on with little conversation. After finishing his meal, John placed his helmet back on and left for the elevator. When the elevator stopped, he entered the Tech room once again. He was happy to see Cortana's avatar fully awake and talking to one of the technicians.

John: "Cortana?"

A/N: Hurray for cliffhangers. Again, sorry for the wait. Also, the first few chapters are really just exposition. The next one will introduce the rest of the plot, then we'll get to the action. Until then, enjoy!


	5. Bad news

A/N: Hey everyone who may still read this. Sorry that I haven't done anything in a while. I have some bad news. My interest level in writing has dropped too low to work on anything big. I may do a few other one-shots, but for now, I got nothing. So, I am sorry to say, this story will be put on hiatus until I experience a relapse and my writing interest rises again. I really am sorry about this, but there is just too many distractions around me. This note will be taken down when I decide to write again, but don't expect anything soon.

So, if anything, expect maybe a few one-shots, but don't hold your breath.

See ya!


	6. Please Read!

**Author's Note:** Hello, everybody! I'm back! Okay, this story has been officially discontinued. Sorry to anyone who watched it. Good news though, I am currently mapping out a rewrite! Looking back at this story, it feels really weak. I am not sure if I will actually go through with this rewrite, as I will be mapping it out and getting everything set up and planned before actually writing it. But if I do end up doing it, I promise to go all the way with it, no matter how long it takes! So, don't expect this anytime soon, and definatly don't pray for it to happen; I'm still just thinking about it. So cross your fingers, but not for the whole time or they WILL get cramped.


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